Peter McCollough September 16, 2009

Peter McCollough (b. 1982, United States) is a Northern California based photographer and former Marine that received his B.S. in Visual Communication at Ohio University in 2008. While in school he completed an internship at The Flint Journal in Michigan where he photographed the effects of crime and the sport of amateur cage fighting. While a student at Ohio he attended the Eddie Adams Workshop and was awarded by CPOY, NPPA, The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar and PX3. As of late he is pursuing his strong interest in narrative film making and is currently in the post-production phase of his first short film.

About the Photograph:

“The series this photo is a part of was made during a five hour event during the first month of my newspaper internship in Flint, Michigan, in April of 2007. The cluster to the left is a group of several different churches preaching to and praying with one another. They are standing around a flatbed trailer turned into a portable makeshift stage. They spent the day traveling to different points in the city where violent crimes had occurred. They came to cleanse and bless these areas, and to evangelize to the immediate communities. The wanted to change Flint.”

“We went to an apartment complex notorious for violent crimes; to a school lot where elementary children were allegedly having sex and transmitting HIV. At each location a different Pastor from each church would stand on stage and lead the group, preaching loudly, adamantly. This particular parking lot was the last stop of the day. A slab of asphalt in an isolated part of town squeezed between train tracks and a night club. Several people had been killed and wounded at this location during a recent incident. One of the church members, after a passionate sermon, blew into a large shofar. People began to speak in tongues and hallelujah’s filled the air. A few walked through the parking lot with their arms out before them and their eyes closed. They lay on the wet ground in prayer, as if possessed by something higher.”

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Photographer and photo editor Geoffrey Hiller has created Verve Photo to feature photographs and interviews by the finest contemporary image makers today. Verve Photo is a reminder of the power of the still image. Verve Photo will also point you to new photo agencies, publications, and inspiring multimedia projects.